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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

A while ago I started this quilt - Fireworks by Thimble Blossoms. I had been wanting to use some 1930's reproductions for ages and I thought this quilt design would be a great showcase for these patterned prints.

Well fast forward many, many months and while the quilt top did take a little time to come together I was definitely the hand quilting that took me ages. As I was making the quilt top I started to think about how I was going to quilt it and it just shouted "Hand quilting" to me. I love Perle 8 threads and these Fincca threads were just divine to stitch with.

I started to quilt each of the stars with the same colour thread a 1/4 inch in from the fabric. I had not thought about it to start but as I continued to sew each block and as I had used a white backing fabric I had unintentionally made a design that now is such a feature of the Back of the quilt. I think I love all the hand quilting just as much as the actual front. You don't really see the hand quilting on the front of the quilt unless you are close up.

I don't often make quilts just because. With no shortage around my home for something to snuggle under I usually like to make quilts with someone in mind and for an occasion or special celebration.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Well my Strawberry Social Quilt is now all finished. I was so thrilled with how it all came together and the combination of the bright pinks and reds that my little girl chose.

I sent it away to be long arm machine quilted by Carol of the The Quilting Cottage and asked if she had a Strawberry design that could be quilted all over.

I made an extra Strawberry block and added into my backing - I always love to put an extra little detail or something in my backing - just for some interest.

This week the latest Christmas Issue of Tickle the Imagination Magazine was released. I was very excited as in there was a tutorial I put together to make this Large Cushion. I love seeing projects that I make put in print and love sharing with others ideas to get creative.

I made some time over the weekend for some sewing "just because". I often have orders and deadlines for projects so it is nice once in a while and getting in my sewing to sew to make something for no other reason that I want to. I let both my girls into my Liberty stash and they chose some beautiful fabrics for me to make them some bunting each for their rooms.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

This is my scrap bucket! Being somewhat OCD - when my scrap bucket looks like this - my heart starts to race a little. So the best way to attack it is to make something right!

It was actually my little girl who started to pull it apart and she pulled out these coloured groups of fabrics. There was obviously a lot of pink, purple, aqua and then prints that featured several of these colours in the bucket.

Taking some of my stashed Grey and White Sketch fabric I started to sew the fabrics randomly to the sides, across on a diagonal of the squares that I cut from the Sketch. Pretty soon I had a large pile of squares all ready to be sewn together.

I played around quite a bit with the arrangement of the blocks making lots of different patterns with the way the points matched or were apart.

I settled on this pattern and then set about sewing the blocks up into rows to now have a small quilt top .

Now for a border.

On a side note- after sewing up so many of the fabrics I started to really dislike the word "scrap". Many of the pieces of fabrics are the last little pieces of some of my favourite fabrics so I decided rather than a scrap quilt I am going to name it a Treasure Quilt.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

I know it seems like I only do squares - I don't - it is just that lots of my last custom orders have all been squares and I just love them anyway. This custom order quilt has now made it way to its new little owner that will be gifted for a special Christmas gift.

I love the grey and white doily print in this quilt and teamed with modern prints like the chevron the colours of grey and yellow are so fresh. I machine quilted it with straight lines to compliment the squares.

And this just called out for stripy binding.

To add some detail into the backing I used this yellow and white Chevron print.